Things Could Be
by LazuliLAnime25
Summary: What if Sakura was an ice cube like Sasuke with a famous and classified clan murdered by the Akatsuki? How would this change things? (Main: SasuSaku, NejiSaku, NejiTen, ShikaIno, NaruHina, ItaSaku)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Team 7**

**Sup people! I hate fangirly Sakura so I decided to change that! And sometimes I think she's a little useless just being a medic nin so I gave her a kekkei genkai! I hope you like it!**

**It's not going to be like the original Naruto. I tried to make it similar but probably failed.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Karin would be dead. Also, Deidara would still be alive. And Sakura would've never been a fangirl.**

* * *

"Why don't you all tell me a bit about yourselves?" Kakashi barely looked up from his perverted book.

"Like what?" Sakura asked apathetically.

"Your interests, goals, that kind of stuff," the jonin replied.

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you go?!" Naruto huffed.

"Alright. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes or dislikes. My dreams for the future...hm. As for hobbies, I have a lot of hobbies."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Sasuke was pretty much ignoring all of them.

"I'll go! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen! I hate the three minutes you have to wait for it to cook! My dream is to be Hokage! Then the village will have to stop disrespecting me and treating me like somebody! Somebody important!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Very good. Next?" Kakashi peered pointedly at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone," Sasuke said with eyes staring straight ahead.

"Yeah, next?" The jonin looked to Sakura.

She sighed with an eye roll and began, "my name is Haruno Sakura. I don't want to say my likes but I dislike many things. My goal...is to slaughter the Akatsuki."

_'So she knows who they are,'_ Kakashi thought. He saw Naruto with a confused expression and Sasuke with a raised eyebrow. Clearly she was more educated about the world than her other teammates.

"If we're done here, my training session started an hour ago," Sakura implied and stood up to go.

"And if you're so strong, why do you need to train all the time?" Sasuke questioned with narrowed eyes.

"A similar reason to your case, Uchiha. I have a target or ten, and I'd like to eliminate them all."

"So you're saying you're weak."

"I'm not implying anything of the sort."

"Then prove it. Fight me."

Sakura felt a smirk spread across her face. "You sure you want to do that, Uchiha?"

"I'm positive, Haruno."

"Why do they get to fight?! I wanted to challenge the Teme!" Naruto whined to Kakashi.

"Just watch. I have a feeling you'll learn a lot from this battle," Kakashi replied. _'I will as well. No one has ever seen her train before. Even if she did graduate at the top of every class.' _He froze. _'Wait a minute...'_

Sakura made a few hand seals and two identical chokuto appeared. She grabbed them and separated her feet in a balanced stance. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He highly considered activating his Sharingan for the first time in years.

_'What am I thinking? She can't be that strong,'_ Sasuke thought.

Her blades lit up in blue flames. "I think I'll go easy one you. That was no one gets killed."

Sasuke nearly laughed but before he could react, Kakashi stepped in front of him.

"Have you even sensed her chakra levels?" He asked, loud enough so only Sasuke could hear. "I haven't seen anyone since Naruto with that much. And don't you know about the Haruno kekkei genkai?"

The Uchiha shook his head no.

"Figures, it's classified information anyway. The kekkei genkai allows the user to master every type of release type and replenish their chakra in the blink of an eye. It's also why she has such perfect chakra control."

Deciding the battle was most likely over, Sakura made her chokuto disappear and crossed her arms in boredom. It was true her skills were far beyond her age. Respectively, she seemed to act beyond her age. Her long pink hair was tied in a high ponytail and some loose strands framed her face. The outfit she wore was entirely black: fitted capris, boots up to her thigh, tank-top with a complete mesh back. She had snug black wrist wraps that covered her weapon seals and no kunai or shruriken holsters.

(You know how Sasuke and Naruto looked in Pre-Shippuden...I should hope so anyway...so I'm not going to describe them)

"Tomorrow we'll have our first training session as a team. Don't eat any breakfast," Kakashi said and 'pooled.'

"I'M GONNA GO EAT RAMEN! SEE YA!" Naruto sped off to Ichiraku's.

Sakura headed to the training grounds without a look back.

_'I could follow her and see what she's capable of but I'm sure she'd sense me a mile away,'_ Sasuke thought and just decided to go home. _'We'll see what you can do tomorrow, Haruno."_

A smirk bloomed on his face. _'It's time I had someone I can compare myself to.'_

* * *

**Well there's chappie 1. Please R&R! I think I can really grab the chain and run with this story!**

**Let me know if I should include the Land of Waves Arc. I don't think it would be very interesting but I can add it.**


	2. What Are You?

**Chapter 2: What Are You?**

**Sorry I'm so late! I was pretty busy with studying and all that kind of stuff. Anyway, Team Gai gets mentioned in this chappie!**

**Again, I try to make this as similar to the original as I can but Sakura's different so I'm sure there's a lot of stuff that's not the same.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I don't need to say what I'd do if I did.**

* * *

"I thought he said to be up early! I didn't even get to eat breakfast!" Naruto complained as he arrived.

"You dobe. He said not to eat breakfast," Sasuke said.

"Oh really, Teme?! Did he tell you to get a haircut too?!"

Sasuke just glared at him, the action getting reciprocated.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the two of them but also decided to intervene. "Both of you shut your mouths or I'll do it for you."

Naruto literally zipped his lips and Sasuke scowled.

"Whatever. You're going to have to talk anyway. Kakashi's giving us his infamous bell test and if we don't act like a team we don't pass," Sakura explained.

"Oh yeah?! And how do you know that?!" Naruto demanded.

"I heard him talking to Gai about it."

"Who's Gai?"

"Another jonin. He leads another genin team that's a year older than ours. Focus, baka," Sakura said and narrowed her eyes on her two male teammates.

Sasuke had his hands clasped together in front of his face. He didn't particularly want to work with either of them, though mentally he admitted that Sakura would be more cooperative than Naruto.

"I got nothing!" Naruto threw his hands in the air.

_'Shoddy grammar,'_ thought Sakura but out loud she said, "it was only five seconds."

They waited another forty-five minutes, only partially thinking of plans, before Kakashi finally decided to show up from wherever he was.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto hollered at him.

"I know that. I just got lost on the road of life," Kakashi explained, never taking his eyes of his little orange book. "You'll be doing a bell test today."

Sakura shot Naruto an 'I told you so' look to which he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"If you fail-" Kakashi paused to intimidate them but only succeeded with Naruto. "I tie you to a post and you get to watch me eat."

"NANI?! THAT'S JUST CRUEL OLD MAN!" Naruto exclaimed.

"27 is not old."

"Whatever! Let's get started! Dattebayo!"

* * *

Team 7 was spread across the training grounds. Each genin was waiting for Kakashi to say start. Sakura had a metal whip with a sharp tip. The boys didn't have any weapons at the moment.

"Let's go!" Naruto charged at Kakashi with a kunai.

Said jonin hardly looked up from his book before a dust cloud appeared and Kakashi held Naruto's hand behind the blonde's head (aka the one with the kunai).

"Don't be in such a hurry. I didn't say start yet," Kakashi chastised.

He released Naruto and continued, "let's do this properly. Ready? Set? Start."

'Poof'

Confusion? That was Sakura.

Kakashi searched for her chakra but couldn't detect a single hint of it. _'She certainly knows how to hide herself. I should make her train with Gai's team and see if Neji can find her with the Byakugan.'_

Sasuke and Naruto disappeared as well. Or so Kakashi thought...

"OI OLD MAN! YOU AND ME RIGHT NOW! LET'S GO!" Naruto hollered from the other side of the training grounds.

Kakashi sweatdropped but put his attention back to his book. The Kyuubi-vessel charged at Kakashi with a fist but the jonin dodged. He whipped around and tried to hit him again but Kakashi had disappeared.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you, Naruto," Kakashi said. "Konoha Secret Finger Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

"AAH!"

* * *

_'That probably scarred his ego,'_ thought Sakura.

She was standing on top of a tree, chakra-hidden and invisible. Well, not fully invisible. There was a slim outline of her figure but it took a keen eye to see it. Only certain Haruno's could turn fully invisible but she wasn't one of them.

_'If I'm correct, he'll go after the Uchiha next.'_

She waited about seven minutes with her hearing acute. When she heard grunts and the sounds of earth collapsing, she jumped down from the tree, landing in a squat.

_'Uchiha's stationary. Some kind of earth __jutsu?' _she thought as she approached Sasuke's chakra signature.

Still mostly invisible, she almost cracked up at seeing Sasuke with his head sticking out of the ground. But she was Haruno Sakura, and she did not laugh.

She shifted modes and reappeared with a smirk. Sasuke widened his eyes in surprise of seeing her appear right in front of his eyes.

"Funny situation, Uchiha?" Sakura asked sarcastically.

"Just get me out of here," he commanded.

She formed several different hand seals and slammed her palm on the ground. Sasuke felt the earth tremble and he rose up until he was level with normal ground again.

"You owe me," she stated and turned invisible.

Sasuke brushed the dirt off his clothes and narrowed his eyes at the tiny line jumping up the tree. _'It wasn't genjutsu, she wouldn't use one unless we were going against Kakashi. Kekkei Genkai?'_

* * *

Sakura had used two of her clan's traits: invisibility and perfect chakra control. Her genjutsu had been perfectly placed on Kakashi and she sneakily grabbed a bell. However, she suspected Kakashi knew.

* * *

Sasuke cursed rather colorfully for a thirteen year-old. He couldn't get close enough without making some sort of sound or Kakashi looking in his direction.

* * *

"You can come out now Team 7," Kakashi announced and watched as Sasuke stepped out of the trees. Sakura materialized a short distance from him, the whip wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. Naruto gaped at how she appeared out of nowhere from his post.

"Where's the bell, Sakura?" the jonin asked. Sasuke and Naruto widened their eyes and glanced at Sakura who handed the bell to him.

"WHOHOO! GO SAKURA!" Naruto cheered. Sasuke even gave a nod of acknowledgment in her direction.

Sakura shook her head. "I told you, we needed to work together. We failed."

"That's not entirely true. You two would work decently together on a mission," Kakashi stated, gesturing to Sasuke and Sakura. "But Naruto here needs a little work. I suggest you train together before your next session with me and we'll try the bell test again." He 'poofed,' not forgetting to take his book out of his pocket in the process.

Sakura walked up to Naruto and cut the ropes with the point on her whip.

"Yosh! He said to train together so let's train!" Naruto shouted and Sakura gave a brief nod in agreement.

Sasuke didn't object and they spread out across the training grounds.

Sakura let her whip slide down from her wrist and she grasped the pointed end. Naruto grabbed a few kunais and prepared to throw them at either teammate. Sasuke simply concentrated on Sakura.

"Attack!" Naruto threw his kunais at Sasuke who had his eyes wide as he dodged.

_'He even blurted out he was attacking and I didn't notice. What's wrong with me?!'_ Sasuke thought as he sidestepped to avoid Sakura's whip.

"Slowing down, Uchiha? Tired?" Sakura mocked, making said Uchiha glare at her. "I think you two need to try harder than that." She pointed at the two boys with a smirk.

Naruto clenched a fist and Sasuke glared harder.

Sakura's whip lit up with blue lightning and it made the rest of the area look dark with the light it was giving off. After walking a few steps forward, she swung it around at blinding speed and it barely hit the boys' sleeves.

She was about to swing again but then the atmosphere changed and Sakura was staring at them with the whip still wrapped around her wrist. Sasuke and Naruto saw Iruka in between them with a stern look on his face.

"Glad I got here in time. That was a genjutsu, a powerful one at that," the Academy instructor explained.

Sasuke widened his eyes. "But she didn't even form any seals."

"You don't have to. A genjutsu can be inflicted with just a finger. The question is: how come Sakura didn't graduate from the Academy until now?"

Sakura was looking rather bored and started twirling a shuriken around her finger.

"Kakashi-senpai wants you to train with Team Gai. I'll take you to them," Iruka said to Sakura and released the boys.

She nodded and they walked deeper into the training grounds.

Naruto and Sasuke stared after them for a little while but Sasuke started to head after them.

"Teme, where're you going?" Naruto asked.

"To find out what she can do," Sasuke answered and continued on with a concentrated look on his face.

_'I want to know: what are you, Haruno Sakura?'_

* * *

**Ta-da! Next chapter: the fight between Sakura and Team Gai!**

**I'm not going to have Lee like her in this fic. Since she's darker and all, I don't think he'd like her.**

**I'll try and update soon. It'll be faster in the summertime.**

**R&R please!**


	3. Warning

**Chapter 3: Warning**

**I'm baaaaack! Would summer come already?! I guess not...**

**I should be able to update faster. Summer vacation's almost here which means more free time and no homework.**

**Thanks to:**

_**itachi13080**_

_**OTP-addict**_

_**Aeternus Rose**_

**Answer to Aeternus Rose: I already have a love square in this and a love pentagon is too much to manage. Sorry.**

**Team Gai comes into this chapter. Team 10 and Team 8 will come in at the Chunin Exams.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I don't think I need to do this after five chapters or so.**

* * *

Hyuga Neji was intrigued. Genins weren't usually considered too powerful for their age (of course unless you're Hyuga Neji *scoff*). He kept an ear listening to Rock Lee and Tenten's conversation although he wasn't entirely absorbing it.

"Perhaps this genin found the youth in their veins and felt the need to exploit it with us!" Lee exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

"I'm pretty sure Kakashi-sensei made them train with us," Tenten pointed out.

"Demo, Tenten! Gai-sensei told me that Kakashi-sensei feels no youth!"

"That wasn't the point!"

"I hope we're not interrupting anything," Iruka stepped into view.

Neji shook his head and Iruka grinned.

Sakura stepped out from behind him and Tenten unconsciously felt her teeth clench.

_'It's Haruno Sakura, huh? This isn't good,'_ the weapons mistress thought and barely shifted her gaze to Neji. She bit her lip when she noticed the Hyuga taking Sakura in with blank eyes.

"Let's get this over with," Sakura said. She narrowed her eyes at the three. _'Hyuga Neji: the prodigy of the Hyuga branch family, apparently like the Uchiha. Tenten: the weapons master and hard-headed tomboy. Rock Lee: the taijutsu master trained by Maito Gai...and the annoyance at the training grounds. This should be interesting.'_

Iruka stepped back for the team and Sakura to spar.

Sakura pulled out her whip and it lit up with red electricity. Neji barely nodded to Lee who charged at Sakura. The Haruno swung the whip around with blazing speed and Lee barely jumped in time to dodge it.

_'Impressive. He dodged my lightning whip. Expectations have gone up for this team. I'll have to try-what the?'_

Sakura jumped away from a kunai courtesy of Tenten, the weapon just nicking her shoulder. Before a new set of weapons could get close, Sakura swung her whip around and the they were redirected towards the weapons mistress.

"Hakke Kusho!" Neji shouted and the weapons spun in all different directions. He had his Byakugan activated and scanned Sakura's chakra system. _'Impossible. Her chakra levels are insane. It's flowing so fast, her __jutsus can be done in less than a second. The only way to get to her is to get her chakra down as low as possible.'_

"Thanks," Tenten said and prepared two different scrolls.

Neji simply nodded and ran to Sakura's right, Lee on her left.

"Juken/Konoha Senpu!" Neji and Lee attacked at the same time.

"Suiton: Mizu Suiho no Jutsu!" Sakura's hands were forming seals at lightning speed and both the boys hit a wall of water.

She had formed a huge bubble around herself, one hand keeping the water from collapsing on herself.

"This jutsu uses a huge amount of chakra. We need to keep attacking so her chakra levels decrease," Neji explained to his team.

"Bakuryugeki/Hakke Kuhekisho/Goken!" Team Gai exclaimed at the same time and launched their attacks.

After attacking five times each, they jumped back and Neji analyzed Sakura's chakra. She had maintained the bubble the entire time. _'Her chakra levels haven't even been dented! __Her chakra levels had to be reduced! Wait, they have. She can replenish her chakra, shinobi would die for that kind of ability.'_

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Sakura released the water around herself and it came crashing towards them in a giant wave.

"Hakkesho Kaiten!" Neji hurriedly performed the jutsu and the water hit the trees surrounding the training ground. "Now Tenten!"

Said kunoichi set her scrolls by her sides in an upright position. "Soshoryu!" she shouted and two smoke dragons rose toward the sky. Tenten jumped up in between the dragons and began summoning weapon after weapon.

Sakura widened her eyes considerably and prepared her chakra for a emergency move. "Fuiton: Kuhaku Oshi no Jutsu!"

A long winding current was formed and seemed to swallow all the weapons. Having no more room on her scrolls to summon weapons, Tenten landed and attached chakra strings to her sharpest blades.

_'This is my last option. It'd better work,' _she thought and manipulated the weapons to attack Sakura.

All of them hit their target and Sakura was knocked over, bleeding more than what was probably healthy.

_'Thank Kami! My chakra's almost gone!'_ Tenten panted but gasped when a log was in Sakura's place.

"Dammit!" she cursed out loud and scanned the area for a sign of the pink-haired girl.

"Bakuton: Taju Jimen Bakuha no Jutsu!" Sakura's voice echoed across the clearing.

"Stop! You'll kill them!" Iruka was louder and ran in front of Team Gai.

Sakura materialized a few meters from them. She hadn't even broken a sweat and not a single wrinkle appeared on her clothes.

"Go home, Sakura," Iruka ordered and she obeyed without question.

"Listen, try to make her feel like she belongs here. If she turns against us, who knows what she could do to Konoha," he said and walked off in the general direction of the Academy.

"He's right. There were only three times we actually surprised her," Tenten stated.

"Demo, if it happens, it's fate. We won't be able to change anything about it." Neji sat down against a tree and closed his eyes.

Tenten sighed. _'Is fate all he can think about?!'_

"I'll see you youthful teammates later! Gai-sensei and I have not had our training time yet!" Lee cheered and ran off, apparently no scratch on him.

The female member of Team Gai glanced at Neji before taking off.

After her chakra signature was too far away, the Hyuga opened his eyes and one eyebrow furrowed.

_'How does anyone expect to defeat someone like her. She has to have some kind of weakness. And I'll find it.'_

* * *

*smack*

"OW! TEME! THAT HURT!" Naruto whined and rubbed the growing bump on his head.

"Shut up! I'm going home," Sasuke scowled and walked away, leaving the blonde to most likely get ramen.

_'If Sakura could get that powerful on her own, I can too,'_ the Uchiha thought with a smirk.

* * *

**I finished! It took a while to finish this chapter but it's pretty good in my opinion.**

**I know Lee didn't have that big of a roll but he isn't a main character in this fic. Sorry!**

**Please R&R!**


	4. Mission to the Land of Waves

**Chapter 4: Mission to the Land of Waves**

**Summer's here! Yay! Updating should come faster now but I'll be on hiatus from July 9th-16th. Family reunion, yeah.**

**I understand that Team 7 gets a lot of D-Ranks before the Land of Waves. If I leave off any important details from the Land of Waves mission, please be sure to tell me. I haven't read or watched Pre-Shippuden in a while.**

**Thanks to:**

**OTP-addict- you've really been sticking with me through this story! Thanks a lot! I'll be putting a jutsu guide at the end of the chapters now.**

_**Jutsus from last chapter:**_

_**Hakke Kusho- Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm**_

_**Juken- Gentle Fist**_

_**Konoha Senpu- Leaf Whirlwind**_

_**Suiton: Mizu Suiho no Jutsu- Water Release: Water Bubble Technique**_

_**Bakuryugeki- Exploding Dragon Strike**_

_**Hakke Kuhekisho- Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm**_

_**Goken- Strong Fist**_

_**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu- Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique**_

**_Hakkesho Kaiten- Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving_ _Heaven_**

_**Soshoryu- Rising Twin Dragons**_

**_Fuiton: Kuhaku Oshi no Jutsu- Wind Release: Vacuum Pressure Technique_**

_**Bakuton: Taju Jimen Bakuha no Jutsu- Explosion Release: Multiple Ground Explosion Technique**_

**Phew! I spent a lot of time on that.**

**And just pretend that they already know about mission ranks. I know someone explains it to them.**

**Disclaimer: You should know the drill. If you don't, I fear for you LOL!**

* * *

"WHERE'S KAKASHI-SENSEI?! I NEED TO PASS THIS DAMN BELL TEST!" Naruto growled, imagining Team 7's jonin suffering _the_ perverted finger jutsu.

"Shut up, dobe. He's probably staying away from you and your mouth," Sasuke retorted, the tone of his voice coming out colder than he planned.

"Or maybe you and your attitude!" Naruto hollered back.

"Probably both of you," Sakura scoffed while rolling her eyes.

"Like you're any better," Sasuke said curtly.

"Watch your mouth, Uchiha."

"Right back at you, Haruno."

"I see we're getting along this morning," a different voice commented sarcastically and the three genins looked up to see Kakashi balancing on an electrical wire.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto shouted at the jonin.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Gomen, I got lost on the road of life. It's really intriguing actually."

"YOU USED THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE LAST TIME!"

"Hai, hai. Anyway, we're not doing the bell test today. We'll do it after our mission."

Naruto gaped at him and Sasuke glared. Sakura sighed. She already passed the test but they hadn't done it as a team. _'Whatever, the Sandaime will probably give us a lame mission anyway,'_ she thought.

"NANI?! WE'RE DOING A MISSION?! KYAH! THIS IS GREAT! I'LL BECOME HOKAGE FOR SURE!" Naruto cheered.

Kakashi sweatdropped. _'It's probably only a D-Rank, Naruto. Don't get worked up.'_

"Let's get going," the jonin jumped down from the wire and led them to the Hokage's office.

* * *

_In Naruto's mind:_

_Oh boy! This is so exciting! I can't let Sasuke-teme or Sakura beat me! Speaking of the Teme, he was totally checking out Sakura! Even his dumbass superior brain can't deny that! So was that guy with the long hair and freaky eyes. Oh well, not my problem!_

* * *

_In Sasuke's mind:_

_That stupid dobe. It's not like we're going to get a good mission anyway. Sakura and I can probably finish it without problems but I'm not so sure about that idiot. Why do I even care anyway? It's not like we can die on D-Ranks. I'd better not see that long-haired prodigy-wannabe. Like he thinks he has a chance with Sakura. Psh, why do I even care?_

* * *

_In Sakura's mind:_

_This is stupid. This team is qualified for C-ranks at least. I'm not dumb enough to deny that. Unless Naruto forgets to use his brain or Sasuke lets his stupid ego get in the way. They're both idiots. A squirrel could've hidden their chakra better than they did yesterday._

* * *

_In Kakashi's mind:_

_I'm stuck with a knucklehead and two emo prodigies. Lovely..._

* * *

"Team 7," Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime, greeted with a nod.

Kakashi gave a wave (I so did not mean to rhyme) and grabbed Naruto's collar before the blonde could charge in front of the Hokage.

"We're here for our first mission," Kakashi announced.

"AND DON'T GIVE US A CRAPPY D-RANK!" Naruto added with his nose in the air and arms crossed.

"You're not eligible for a C-Rank yet," Hiruzen stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"SCREW THAT!" (I'm sure you can guess who that was.

"For once, I have to agree with him," Sakura inserted herself into the conversation.

Sasuke gave a brief nod in approval.

Hiruzen eyed the three genins. He had seen Naruto grow from a child and was responsible for the kid's apartment. The blonde might be a knucklehead but he had a brain in there. Sasuke was nothing like the little boy Hiruzen had met before the massacre. In all honesty, Sasuke could take on a C-Rank. Hiruzen had never really been acquainted with Sakura. Her clan was private and had a tall stone wall surrounding the entire compound. But from what he heard from Iruka yesterday, she could pass the Chunin Exams in a heartbeat.

"Alright, I have this one," Hiruzen complied and set a mission scroll out in front of him. "It's a mission to escort the bridge-builder, Tazuna, to Nami no Kuni, the Land of Waves. In fact, your charge is here at this moment. Tazuna."

A man, maybe in his late fifties, entered the office and narrowed his eyes at the three genin. "I'm not having a bunch of kids take me to my home nation."

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH YOU OLD MAN!" Naruto pointed a finger at him.

"Who're you calling an old man?!"

"Enough. These kids and Kakashi are more than enough power for you. Now get out of my office," Hiruzen ordered and the group obeyed.

Tazuna left to wherever he was staying for the night. Kakashi gave one last order to the group before heading to his apartment:

"Be at the gate tomorrow morning with supplies for the mission." And he 'poofed' away.

Naruto disappeared to his beloved ramen and Sasuke was about to leave when something...or _someone__, stopped him._

"I think we might've gotten off on the wrong path," Sakura started. Sasuke turned to look at her with an eyebrow raised. "We're teammates and we'd better start acting like it."

"Aa." He simply nodded.

"This might be too deep for someone like you-" she received a glare but couldn't care less "-but tell me when _it_ happened."

Sasuke knew what she was talking about. The massacre. It was a touchy subject but he had a feeling she went through something similar.

With heaping hesitation at first, he started telling her about his brother, Itachi, and how he completely slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan except for him. She nodded once in a while, able to relate to what he was talking about.

When he finished, she started talking about how her family had planned to overthrow the Hokage but the Akatsuki (something she didn't say anything else about) killed her clan but she had hidden herself for two days until she was sure they were gone.

Somehow they found themselves talking like friends, perhaps short-sentenced friends, all the way to the Haruno compound.

"See you tomorrow, Sasuke," she said, smirking lightly at him.

The Uchiha copied the gesture and headed back home to his clan's compound.

Somehow both of them had a feeling that tomorrow wouldn't be so bad, not when they had someone to rely on.

* * *

**Well, it's a really late night. You know when you're hiding under the covers with a laptop? Yep...that's me, tonight at least.**

**It's a slow SasuSaku progression. I don't think it's like _them_ to be in a rush.**

**No jutsu in this chapter. **

**Here's a question for you:**

**Should Sakura be stuck guarding Tazuna like in the original manga/anime?**

**Please answer the question and R&R! Love ya'lls!**


	5. Mist Demons

**Chapter 5: Mist Demons**

**What's up people?! I know I'm about to rant here but people tell me to shut up in real life so here goes:**

**Got pulled over for going 40 mph in a 40 mph zone. What the hell?! The police guy was saying we were going 45 but it said 40! The nerve of people! And then when we went to get a car wash, it started raining just after we finished. The world hates me! D':**

**I can rant once in a while right?**

**This is going to be different than the normal battle with the Demon Brothers but you know what? This is a different story and don't complain about it.**

**Disclaimer: I hope you know.**

* * *

_Tears are just water, easily __replenished. But feelings are true objects, like pottery._

_ They shatter. _

_But with the right guidance, they can be repaired._

* * *

Kakashi was actually moderately on time. Not early enough to avoid yelling from Naruto but early enough to avoid the cold shoulder from the two emo prodigies who actually seemed to be getting along.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!" Naruto gave a full ear-to-ear smile and took the lead.

"I wouldn't be surprised if some S-Rank jumped out at us," Sakura muttered.

Sasuke, who was by her side, smirked. She was just so..._easy_ to talk to. They both weren't the biggest talkers; neither asked a lot and neither gave a full on answer.

And it was perfect that way.

The group couldn't move full speed. Tazuna wasn't a ninja and couldn't jump from tree to tree. It pissed off Naruto but he managed to not complain...shockingly. The speed was nice for Kakashi. He could read his perverted book and walk at a nice pace. Sakura was bored out of her mind. Although, suspecting this would happen, she brought along a brain-teaser book. Who said emo prodigies had to love training? Sasuke was suffering boredom as well, enough to look over Sakura's shoulder (from a respective distance because he's Uchiha Sasuke *scoff scoff*).

"You're answering it wrong," Sasuke stated.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh so that's why the words aren't lining up."

He smirked again. Once he opened his mouth to say something else, Kakashi was knocked into the bushes. Sakura put her book away and searched for any kind of unfamiliar chakra. Naruto was almost freaking out but managed to stay quiet. Sasuke simply prepared for a fight.

"Now that we've got the good shinobi out of the way, we can eliminate the bridge builder," a man with his left hand bearing a gauntlet landed on the ground and said.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH US FIRST!" Naruto proclaimed.

Tazuna groaned to himself. _'I'm so dead.'_

Sakura, who felt another presence drop in behind her, loosened the wrap around her right wrist, where her whip was.

"Get rid of the kids," the other with a gauntlet on his right hand ordered.

"Got it, Gozu," the man with the left gauntlet replied and charged at the three genins who had formed a triangular "protection" of sorts around Tazuna.

Naruto, on impulse, began throwing some kunai but had enough sense to stop when he saw the weapons bounce off the two's gauntlets. Sasuke analyzed the Demon Brothers' weapons with narrowed eyes. _'They have shuriken chains and poisoned claws. Looks like it's just the weapon that gives them the advantage.'_

Sakura swung her whip, now crackling with electricity, around. She aimed for the two brothers' gauntlets and her teeth tightened when only a scratch appeared on each. With haste, she coiled her whip back around her wrist and pulled a small metal rod out of her pocket. Sasuke eyed her as if to ask, "do you actually think that's going to do anything?" Thrusting her arm out, the rod extended until it was taller than her and a blade protruded horizontally from the top. It was a scythe.

"I'll take care of them. Get Kakashi to appear, wherever he is," Sakura commanded and used her weapon to deflect some shuriken aimed for Tazuna.

Sasuke didn't want to take orders from anyone, much less a girl, but there wasn't much time to argue. His order didn't last long because Kakashi came to the rescue and knocked the Demon Brothers out. After tying them up he said, "good job, Sakura, Sasuke. And Naruto, is that how you're going to handle B-Rank or A-Rank missions?"

Naruto held his head up defiantly. "Of course not! Dattebayo! I was just stunned!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Sure you were."

"Watch it, Teme!"

Sakura turned to Tazuna. "They mentioned something about eliminating you. Did you have bad relations with him in the past?"

A bead of sweat appeared on Tazuna's forehead. "I-I m-might-"

Kakashi cut him off, "we don't have time for chatting. Let's move." His book was in his pocket, for once.

Sasuke and Sakura gave brief nods at one another and foliowed Kakashi as the jonin began to walk off. Tazuna trailed behind them and Naruto felt alone.

_'You always get everything, Teme. Even the girls.'_

* * *

**I know it's short but it has hints of SasuSaku in there ****which is my ultimate goal for this fanfic. I'll see if I want to do a sequel for this.**

**Another question!**

**Who appears first? Zabuza or Haku?**

**Imaginative Monopoly money for the correct answer! Ha! No probably not...**

**No jutsu in this chapter.**


	6. Zabuza vs Team 7

**Chapter 6: Zabuza vs. Team 7**

**And yes I said Team 7, not Kakashi.**

**I've been playing Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution III and Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Destiny II. CNR III is soooooo hard but soooooo much fun! Same with ND II.**

**I know I don't have the part when Naruto cuts himself over his poisoned injury and makes the big speech about not backing down and stuff like that. But you know what...it's only an important part in one chapter and doesn't really ever come up again. So, sorry.**

**Thanks to:**

_**Jossy.V**_

_**Kelpiejh**_

_**EmeraldXSapphire**_

**Congrats to Jossy.V! Yes you spelled it right. I know that was probably the easiest question in the book but this chapter will have a question more related to the story.**

**Again, updates should be faster until July 9-17 when I'll be on a family reunion thing. I know this is different than the manga or anime but it's supposed to be so get that in your heads please.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

* * *

_It's true that we cry because we're frustrated,_

_But it's also true that we cry because we're so prideful._

_I'm Haruno Sakura, and I'm done crying._

* * *

Kakashi led his team and Tazuna onto a rather run-down motorboat. His mind was reeling with thoughts on why two chunins wanted to kill the bridge-builder.

Sasuke glanced at Tazuna. It was quite obvious that Team 7's charge was sweating like his hair was on fire. The Uchiha had been listening with all ears when Sakura had interrogated Tazuna about why two chunins would want to eliminate him.

Naruto grasped his hands behind his head. The last thing on this mind was the safety of the bride-builder. Instead, his thoughts were occupied by the recent development between his two teammates. Even Naruto noticed that Sasuke and Sakura were on better ground. He just didn't know how.

And he was damn sure neither would answer that.

Sakura was sketching out charts. She had covered up the previous charts of x-ed out Akatsuki members, which she planned on filling out in all honesty eventually since none of them were actually dead yet. Her current chart had a quick picture of Tazuna and arrows aiming at him. Temporarily, there were only two arrows with a speedy sketch of the Demon Brothers. A nagging feeling told her to leave more space. She had a feeling whoever was after Tazuna wasn't finished with him quite yet.

"I'm afraid we'll be ending this mission when we get to land," Kakashi broke the silence and Naruto looked at him with confusion.

"Huh? Why?" Naruto pondered, rubbing a hand on the back of his head.

"It's simple, baka. None of this lines up. If they had been after us, then they wouldn't have to eliminate Tazuna," Sakura explained.

"Ohhhhhhhh!" And the light bulb finally appeared.

"We'll only end the mission if Tazuna-san doesn't tell us why this mission is ranked as a C instead of an A-rank or B-rank," Kakashi said pointedly.

Said man wiped his stress sweat off with the back of his hand. "The Land of Waves is a small town. We can't afford A-ranks or B-Ranks. A while back, a man named Gato took over our town."

"Gato? The businessman?" Sakura couldn't help but ask.

"Exactly. I'm building a bridge that'll connect Nami (or Wave) to the mainland. But if the bridge is successful, Gato loses all his power."

"How did he get shinobi to eliminate you if there aren't any in Nami?" Sasuke asked.

"He hired them from Kirigakure. Not directly, just the missing-nins who were willing to serve him."

"We'll have to abandon the mission," Kakashi stated and received shocked faces from Naruto and Tazuna.

"But then I'll be assassinated and my grandson'll be running around asking for his grandad!" Tazuna protested.

_'Emotional blackmail much? Tch, like I feel any __sympathy for that guy,' _Sakura thought to herself.

"And my daughter'll condemn Konoha and blame your village for her loneliness and sorrow. But don't feel bad when you walk away from the mission!"

"Just be quiet and we'll stick around," Sakura muttered reluctantly.

"I knew you'd see the light!" Tazuna said sarcastically, receiving an eye roll from the girl.

* * *

Silence ensued when the group got off the boat. Tazuna was at front now, leading them to their location. Kakashi was just behind him with Naruto to his right. Sasuke and Sakura were the "caboose." Once in a while, she caught a smirk on his face and glared at him, only to get a more smug smirk in reply.

Honestly, Sasuke didn't know why he was smirking. It just felt so natural to do it with her but he wasn't hoping for much.

"Everyone duck!" Kakashi commanded and the group obeyed.

A huge sword was hurtled above them and a hand caught it. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the owner of the hand.

"Protect Tazuna-san," he ordered quietly and saw Team 7 take Manji Formation around the bride-builder. "Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of Kiri."

"So I'm just that famous, huh?" Zabuza questioned, not expecting a good answer.

"Famous enough for me to need to use this," Kakashi said and lifted his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan.

Sakura wasn't all too amazed. Naruto didn't really have a clue about what was going on. Sasuke was appalled. No one outside his clan had the Sharingan.

"What is that?" Naruto wondered and Sakura almost thought about smacking him for sounding so stupid.

"It's a dojutsu that allows the user to predict all ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Quite the accomplishment," Zabuza explained.

"What's going on, exactly?" Naruto whispered to no one in particular.

Sakura snorted. "We're in a hell lotta shit is what." This earned a smile from Naruto.

"You're right, girl. You are in deep shit," Zabuza said as he charged toward her at insane speed.

His first swing with his blade she dodged by summersaulting but the second she couldn't get anything to block it in time.

"Tazuna isn't my only target, Haruno."

_'Shit is right. And I haven't even gotten the Akatsuki yet.'_

* * *

_i was most likely the happiest girl in the village when I was little. Okaasan loved to spoil me with clothes and weapons. Otousan was a tough case. He always expected what I couldn't give._

_The fences were high, but I had the power to jump over them. Or at least, that's what I can do now._

* * *

**I got kinda lazy on this chapter. Plus I left it on a cliffhanger but you don't have to wait long for a new chapter.**

**Here's the question (and since I'm author I know the answer)**

**Who saves Sakura?**

**I'm sure it's an easy guess O.-**

**Please R&R! 3 you people!**


	7. Trust

**Chapter 7: Trust**

**Hi! I'm dedicating this chappie to my cousin who just graduated high school! Congrats!**

**You'll find the answer to this question in the chapter O.-**

**Updating might be rough in the coming week. I have a horse clinic from like 7 AM-4 PM Mon-Fri or some time around then and a horse show on Friday.**

**Thanks to:**

_**dark shadow400**_

_**EmeraldXSapphire**_

_**kelpiejh**_

**Disclaimer: Standard**

* * *

_I only found out about my family's plans to overthrow the Hokage after a very loud and heated debate that could be heard across the compound. Luckily, nothing passed the tall walls of the compound._

_It was when I realized that my family was not alone, but had another clan that allied with them._

_The planned alliance that would bring down Konoha._

* * *

As Zabuza's blade reached a distance of two centimeters from Sakura's neck, two kunai were shoved in between. The Demon of the Mist grunted as his weapon was flung away but Sakura saw Sasuke glaring at Naruto and the blonde giving a stupid-looking wink in return.

Kakashi hid a grin at his students. He had seen, but hadn't heard, everything (because he's Hatake Kakashi *scoff scoff*).

_Flashback Kakashi POV (a few seconds ago)_

It looked like Zabuza was saying something to Sakura but my superb ears couldn't hear any of it. The next thing I saw was Zabuza about to stab Sakura and I started to run toward him with a kunai. Even at the rate I was going at I wouldn't have made it in time.

But it looked like the student who preferred to keep to himself was faster.

_End Very Short Flashback (Normal POV)_

Naruto knew it wasn't the right time to piss off Sasuke, but he couldn't help himself. To think the rival he knew would save Sakura from a missing-nin?! Uncanny! (Not that the blonde knew what that word meant...)

Zabuza wasted no time in retrieving his sword and eyed Kakashi. Sakura stood up by flipping off her hands, putting her back in Manji Formation, Sasuke and Naruto soon joining.

(Skipping the part about Sasuke freaking out over tension. Honestly, it makes no sense)

"It's over," Zabuza stated and swung his weapon around.

In a blur, Kakashi stabbed him with a kunai but the 'Zabuza' fell to water.

_'Dammit, should've seen that one,'_ Sakura thought. Her eyes were following every single footstep of the battle.

The real Zabuza sliced Kakashi with his sword but his target was revealed to be a water clone as well.

Surprised, Zabuza gritted his teeth when he felt a kunai at his neck. In self-defense, the missing-nin formed speedy hand seals and clapped his hands. The kunai was no longer against his neck and Kakashi mentally cursed from inside the water prison.

_'They shouldn't have to run. Give me a few minutes,'_ Kakashi thought with a slight smile.

Zabuza turned his attention to the three genin, Sakura specifically.

"I've heard a lot about you, Haruno. Survived the Akatsuki raid on your clan, learned the clan's secret techniques without help. You're something, aren't you?" Zabuza smirked, almost mockingly.

Sakura didn't react at all, feeling the wrap around her whip loosen. A handle was in her other hand and with a flick of her wrist, a long, skinny blade jutted out. After grabbing the wrap fall to the ground, her whip was in her hand and she prepared for a fight. Sasuke tensed and Naruto, feeling his discomfort, smiled cheekily at him. For once, Sasuke was thankful for that annoying ramen-lover.

With a tap of Sakura's katana to the ground, a light amount of water spread across the clearing, stopping at Sasuke and Naruto's feet.

"This is when I have the advantage," she said and with another tap, the water made a direct path from Zabuza to Sakura.

"Suffer," she whispered and red lightning crackled across the path of water.

Zabuza screamed out (no, not like a girl) and tried putting a hand to his heart but it was like he was paralyzed. _'Still got one escape left.'_

A log appeared in his place and Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Oi, Teme? Do you think we should get involved?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shook his head with a smirk. "There's personal business now."

Kakakshi sighed with relief when the water around him collapsed. Sakura had forced Zabuza to use the replacement jutsu, making him stop the jutsu on Kakashi.

"Prepare yourselves. This shinobi isn't one you should be taking lightly," the jonin said to Sasuke and Naruto.

The pair nodded and searched for Zabuza

Sakura smirked when she saw a ripple in the water. With her lightning whip, she swung around at the disturbance and Zabuza had to move out of the way to avoid getting hit.

_'This is more serious than I thought. This girl, she isn't normal. There's something off about her..._

_...the Haruno Curse.'_

* * *

_Weapons...I adored weapons. I'm not like Tenten, I don't use them as projectiles. I studied every aspect there was to know about whatever weapon I might have. It was natural for me to be so curious._

_But the curiosity was what led me to my first kill._

* * *

**Dun dun duuuuuuuun! Cliffie again! Getting so lazy lately. Sorry readers!**

**The first battle with Zabuza ends in the next chappie, all I'm going to say O.-**

**Please R&R! Love y'alls!**


	8. Welcome to the Land of WavesSorta

**Chapter 8: Welcome to the Land of Waves...Sorta**

**Hi! Had first day at horse camp and I feel ****superior LOL!**

**Super excited because I got the final book to the Mortal Instruments. Had to wait a long time because free shipping took longer. Yes, I ordered it online. I preordered it like...a year ago and now I finally get it. Yays!**

**Thanks to:**

_**annashina**_

_**OTP-addict**_

_**kelpiejh**_

_**Shadowlove'scookies**_

**So happy! Up to 24 reviews! Yay! (Insert party with Batman. Woohoo!)**

**Reminder: On hiatus July 9-17**

**Disclaimer: Standard**

* * *

_It was a normal day. Got a few weapons from Okaasan and a lecture from Otousan. Had a lesson from Jiichan about clan history._

_But what came next I never could've predicted._

* * *

"We need a strategy. We're all going in separately and that's not going to have any effect," Kakashi said to his team.

Tazuna had gotten a safe distance away from them. In a way, they were forming a wall in between the bridge-builder and Tazuna.

He saw nods from the three genin and looked at Zabuza. The missing-nin was clutching his chest, trying to get solid breathing in. Obviously, Sakura had done enough damage to give them the advantage.

"Sakura and I can both use lightning. You two can combine your moves. Zabuza can be distracted with our attack and you two can come in and finish him off," Kakashi explained and nodded at Sakura.

Sasuke and Naruto seemed to be deep in conversation. Hoping they would be finished figuring something out by the time they attacked, Kakashi and Sakura proceeded.

"Raiton: Gian/Raikiri!" the jonin and Sakura shouted at the same time.

_'Shit. Two lightning attacks. I'm trapped here and-god dammit!' _Zabuza mentally cursed as senbon pierced him in the chest.

Two fuma shurikens flew over him when he collapsed.

"Aww man! It was perfect! And we didn't even hit him!" Naruto complained with a pouty expression.

"Hn, shut up, dobe," Sasuke muttered.

Kakashi looked at the direction from where the senbon were thrown and saw a Kirigakure hunter-nin on a tree branch.

"I'll be taking care of him," the hunter-nin said and jumped down.

"HOW DID HE JUST KILL THIS GUY WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO KILL FOR A GOOD THREE HOURS?!" Naruto demanded.

"Naruto, there are shinobi out there who are younger than you but could be stronger than me. Take Sakura as an example," Kakashi stated and gestured toward the pink-haired girl.

Sasuke would've normally scoffed but instead, didn't do anything. There wasn't any lie behind Kakashi's words and not even Uchiha High and Mighty could say otherwise.

The silver-haired man eyed the hunter-nin who was examining Zabuza's body.

_'This is bad. Serious recuperation time is needed,' _the hunter-nin thought. He picked up Zabuza's weapon strap and dragged him away.

"I could've sworn that he was a woman," Sakura mumbled too low for anyone to hear.

_'Too much Sharingan,' _Kakashi stated mentally before passing out.

* * *

Kakashi opened his eyes and knew he was laying down on something comfortable.

"Glad to see you're awake. Your three kids are waiting in the dining room," a lady, no older than thirty, said.

"Uh, thanks. May I ask who you are?" Kakashi questioned as he sat up.

"My name is Tsunami. Tazuna's my father." Tsunami introduced. "Need help?"

"Iie, I think I'm okay. I'd better go see my students. If I know them, Naruto and Sasuke are fighting right now."

* * *

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING DOBE, YOU TEME?!" Naruto shouted.

"You, dobe," Sasuke retorted calmly.

Sakura's eyes were getting tired of rolling so she settled for sighing.

_'Looks like I was right on the money,__' _Kakashi thought as he hobbled in, weight supported by a cane.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto accused with a pointer finger.

"Dobe, you're such a baka. He just woke up," Sasuke stated irritably.

"Whatever, Teme."

"We'll be doing a training exercise. Come with me," Kakashi commanded and limped out the door, his students on his tail.

_'If what I think __about that battle is correct, Zabuza's out there somewhere, with that hunter-nin.'_

* * *

_One of the weapons I received was rather intriguing. It was one of the chokuto I use now. I didm' know that beck then._

_I was in the clan's library, researching, and I found a book about the weapon containing __maneuvers to use in battle._

_When curiosity got the best of me, I tried one of the moves that allowed me to attack an opponent from my blind side._

_I completed the maneuver perfectly...and saw blood staining my bare feet. Whipping around, I saw my cousin with wide eyes. The only cousin I knew and cared about._

_Hitomi._

_Tears mixed with blood that day. I hid in my room and refused to come out. One day when I couldn't take it anymore, I escaped through the window and used an exploding disc to knock down a hole in the wall around the compound._

_I ran as far as my legs could take me. I guessed I reached the training grounds when a shuriken thudded next to me._

_It was then I met my first friend. Even if he was six years older than me, I knew I had a true friend, one I'd never forget._

_Our names were even engraved on a tree in that very training ground:_

_Haruno Sakura + Uchiha Itachi_

* * *

**The first fight with Zabuza ended and the tree climbing practice is about to start! Woohoo!**

**Raiton: Gian- Lightning Release: False Darkness (Kakuzu uses this move but it works for Sakura)**

**Raikiri- Lightning Cutter**

**Chapter Question!**

**We all know Sakura finishes first in the tree-climbing practice. Should her finishing first give Sasuke more motivation?**

**Please answer and R&R!**


	9. Flickering Rivalry

**Chapter 9: Flickering Rivalry**

**What's up? I've been super tired lately. If I make typos, it's because I'm exhausted. But Fanfiction doesn't require me to run around or jump over fences on my horse so I'm not ****_that_**** exhausted.**

**I've been reading the final Mortal Instruments book and can't put it down. But damn, 725 pages. This will be the biggest book I've read and nearly topping The Clockwork Princess by almost 200 pages.**

**You'll find out the answer to the question in the chapter.**

**Thanks to:**

_**OTP-addict**_

**Disclaimer: Standard, whatever.**

* * *

_Itachi was always a little off. He was always a good person though and never seemed to fully possess the true personality traits of the Uchiha clan, a few slipping through. I decided to get stronger because of him. This was the age when I had been in the Academy for almost four years, meaning I was eight. Otousan put me in early so I could graduate sooner. I didn't care about becoming a kunoichi._

_But he gave me a reason to fight._

* * *

"You guys are going to walk up these trees," Kakashi stated as he looked at his students from the tree branch he was standing upside-down on.

"WHAT THE HELL, OLD MAN?!" Naruto shouted up at him.

"I am not old," Kakashi muttered, too low for the loud-mouth to hear, through clenched teeth.

"Whatever, it's not like we're doing anything important." Sakura glanced at Naruto and Sasuke from the corner of her eye. "Not important to me anyway."

Naruto crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air. Sasuke half-heartedly glared at her, seeing the amusement in her eyes.

"I've already explained how to do this exercise. Take a kunai and mark the tree before you fall," Kakashi said and threw three kunais at his students.

Sakura caught it in her hand but put in her pocket. _'Not like I need it anyway.'_

Sasuke snatched his in a swipe and focused on a tree. Naruto sidestepped with a weird noise and watched the kunai land on the ground next to him.

Kakashi watched as Sasuke made a rapid mark on the tree before flipping off and landing in a crouch. Naruto couldn't get the right amount of chakra and if he did, the flow was too uneven. And Sakura...where was she?

"Geez, Kakashi. I thought you were a prodigy or something," Sakura commented from another tree on a tree branch level with his.

Naruto had his jaw dropped as he stared up at her and Sasuke frowned. _'Another part of her Kekkei Genkai.'_

Sakura wordlessly hopped down from the tree and landed on her feet. "Is there something else for me to do?" she called up to Kakashi.

"Not at the moment. I guess you'd better guard Tazuna," the silver-haired jonin replied. He watched as she walked off, fingering the wrap around her wrist. Maybe the whip underneath was itchy. He almost had to chuckle at the thought.

Sasuke glanced after Sakura for a few seconds before jogging after her. _'There has to be a way to do this exercise without her Kekkei Genkai.'_

"Oi, Sakura," he said to get her attention.

She looked over her shoulder at him, surprised that he followed her. "What do you want?"

Sasuke brushed off the warning in her tone and asked, "if you're such a genius, then how do you do the tree-climbing training without falling."

Her answer was quick. "Simple. You tune out everything around you. Keep Naruto's voice out of your ears. Let nothing take your focus off the top of the tree. Have even footsteps and keep your rivalry aside with Naruto for the time being."

The Uchiha didn't personally enjoy that last piece of advice but nodded his head in thanks and took off.

* * *

"Damn that teme," Naruto mumbled as he marked yet another point of the tree trunk.

Sasuke reentered the area and let out a deep breath. In his mind, everything except the tree was locked out in gray walls. Looking steadily at the tree, he began taking even steps on the bark. His eyes never deviated from the leaves at the top or the rays of light shining through. Before he even knew it, the leaves were directly in front of him and he stopped, sitting on a branch. The gray walls disappeared and he saw Naruto gaping up at him from the ground. Kakashi had an amused eye which Sasuke did not appreciate.

"Pervert," he muttered to himself before jumping between two different trees to get down.

"You are dismissed as well, Sasuke. Sakrua and Tazuna should be on the bridge," Kakashi said.

Naruto groaned and looked once more at the tree he was pretty sure was cursed.

_'I know we're supposed to be rivals, Sasuke. But I'm letting this one go. You're better off when you're with her.'_

* * *

Sasuke found Sakura observing Tazuna and his employees work from a distance and joined her.

"How'd it go?" she asked, apathy clear in her tone.

"Hn, better. Where'd you learn that?" he questioned in reply.

She opened her mouth but shut it in the same second. "I can't tell you."

Sasuke didn't press further and she was grateful for his unusual cooperativeness.

A few more minutes passed before Sasuke couldn't keep his said cooperativeness.

"Tell me who it was," he commanded this time.

Sakura hesitated. Sasuke wasn't usually a violent reactor but knowing who taught him that form of concentration could be either weird or disastrous. She also didn't want to admit she used a technique that person had taught her years ago and still used.

"It's someone you know well. I'm not telling you straight on," she answered.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. The only people he was truly ever close to were his parents and his brother, Itachi. Come to think of it, Itachi always said something about the "blossom of the training grounds.

"You knew-know him...Uchiha Itachi."

* * *

_I knew our clan had allied with another and I was at first thrilled the Uchiha Clan was buy our side. I'd never been exposed to the cruelty before but I knew how to fight._

_Itachi gave me a new reason to become more powerful._

_He killed, fought for what was right. Even if that meant eliminating your entire family._

* * *

**I. Am. Almost. Asleep. i'm pretty much typing with my eyes closed and I'm too tired to proofread.**

**Chapter Question:**

**Does Sakura tell the truth to Sasuke?**

**She doesn't hate him. They might not like ****each other, for now, but they don't hate each other.**

**Please R&R! I need reviews! The monster's hungry! AAH!**


	10. Facing the Past

**Chapter 10: Facing the Past**

**What's up? I've been so exhausted lately. Did one of those fundraising races but I don't know where I placed. Eh, who cares? I donated money and they'll cure cancer. No really, that's a big deal and I'm hoping they raised a lot of money.**

**Anyone ever read fanfics with incorrect grammar? You can still understand the word but really, is it hard to proofread or ****something? For me, it's too tedious but I'm usually pretty good about typing correctly the first time so I don't have to edit.**

**Anyway, thanks to:**

_**DarqueDeath4444**_

_**Shadowlove'scookies**_

_**And guest who I don't know the name of...**_

**The answer to the question will of course be in the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Standard, you get the point.**

* * *

_For a while, peace was quite a normal thing. Besides the daredevils at the Academy, nothing was out of the ordinary._

_I never knew how twisted my family was._

_It led to their deaths._

* * *

"You know him," Sasuke repeated. He expected to feel frustrated or betrayed towards Sakura for not telling him but felt nothing. Towards her anyway. He was feeling pretty pissed at the moment. (Then again, when isn't he pissed?)

Sakura kept a straight face. "I don't believe it's your business to get involved in my problems."

"It's my brother. Of course it's my business," Sasuke retorted, his eyes glaring at her.

"If you're so determined, you can find out for yourself. I thought you wanted to be the one to bring him down."

"I do but-"

"Stop talking. I have unsettled issues with Itachi as well and I don't need you to get involved." Sakura gave him a hard stare before walking off the bridge.

Sasuke watched her go, unbeknownst to him a smirk was forming on his face. _'Some pride. I'll get you to tell me, Sakura.'_

* * *

_'Stupid Uchiha. Stupid Uchiha clan at that,'_ Sakura mentally said.

She had wandered into town, not looking for anything specific. At the moment, she didn't want to talk to anyone. Going back to Tsunami's would mean she would have to converse with the woman.

And she could've said something to Sasuke. He wasn't going to kill her, unless he was possessed...or something like that.

She almost had to chuckle at the thought of a possessed Uchiha Sasuke. It would've been a sight to see.

Her feet wandered to the edge of town, with a railing overlooking a waterfall. It was serene, not counting the sounds of crashing water. There wasn't a place to sit so Sakura swung a leg over the rail and balanced herself, with hands on either side and feet wrapped around the bars.

Not to sound depressed or emo, but she had often thought of jumping off a cliff or just turning one of her many weapons on herself. No one would miss her. It was a thing that came up in her mind a lot after _the_ incident. Itachi's face pictured in her mind often helped her through things but that was before she knew who-

"Dear, you shouldn't be out here all alone," Tsunami's voice behind her distracted Sakura out of her thoughts.

Sakura simply regarded her with a nod and turned back around to look at the waterfall.

"Otousan and I used to come out here all the time when I was young. He'd set me on his shoulders and we'd watch the waterfall after a rainstorm. The rainbow would always be over there," Tsunami said dreamily and pointed to the sky above the waterfall.

The pink-haired girl sighed. She wished she could have those types of moments with her father...if he wasn't so strict.

"You can tell me whatever you want. I'm always going to be in the Land of Waves. I'll always be here if you need a rock."

At first, Sakura was surprised. She wasn't expecting to get company but she wasn't expecting to have Tsunami as a consoling figure.

Somehow, Sakura knew she'd be needing her a lot more than she would've liked.

* * *

Kakashi dragged Naruto by the collar all the while leaning on his cane from fatigue. When Sasuke had finished his tree-climbing exercise, Naruto completely forgot the point of being out in the forest and ended up making several puncture points on a tree from his kunai.

The tiredness he was feeling shriveled away at the thought of Sasuke getting assistance from Sakura. It gave him conflicting feelings. Amusement: it wasn't every day that Sasuke asked for help, and from a girl. Pride: Sasuke was cooperating with another teammate. It wasn't Naruto but it was still his teammate. Fear: OMG! SASUKE ASKED FOR HELP!"

The mere bought of Sasuke and Sakura together gave Kakashi enough energy to get back to the house.

* * *

Tsunami had left Sakura looking at the waterfall a while ago. The Haruno just wanted to be alone, even if Tsunami was good company.

"Oi," a familiar voice brought her out of her thoughts again and Sakura recognized it as Sasuke.

"Hn," Sakura grunted back in greeting.

Sasuke joined her on the rail and they sat in silence staring at the waterfall.

"Sorry about earlier," the Uchiha muttered, swallowing his pride to do so.

A small grin appeared on Sakura's face and Sasuke knew she wasn't mad.

"Itachi," she began, "was my best friend."

* * *

_The issue with my parents was that they were too trusting. They thought the entire village feared them so they __wouldn't have to worry with betrayal._

_It aaas a huge overstatement. Or understatement...?_

_For example, the Uchiha clan was our ally. _

_But they also had Itachi, someone who could bright them down with his kekkei genkai._

_And Itachi was not one to be messed with._

* * *

**I'm sorry this chapter didn't have a lot of action but it explained a little but of stuff. I am so exhausted I probably did a ton of typos because I can barely keep my eyes open.**

**Next chapter...**

**ZABUZA RETURNS! DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!**

**Please R&R and tell me if I forgot anything important. I'm so tired I probably forgot a ton. ****Thanks for reading!**


	11. Comprehension

**Chapter 11: Comprehension**

**Ugh, I'm already sick with the horse show. I wish I could've been done today but noooo, that's not the case.**

**Thanks to:**

_**kelpiejh**_

_**Shadowlove'scookies**_

_**OTP-addict**_

**Disclaimer: Whatever, standard applied.**

* * *

_Itachi never lost his cool but it was easy to tell when he was stressed. Tension was building in our compound and nothing seemed to be normal. I didn't see Otousan anymore and Okaasan didn't talk to me as much._

_Trouble was brewing, and I had no clue what was happening._

* * *

"He was always like a rock. I usually complained to him as much as I could. We never could relate to each other, but I think that's what made us better," Sakura said coldly. If she was going to open up at all, she wasn't going to do it in a kind voice.

Sasuke nodded numbly. He wasn't going to show he cared.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. She knew what Sasuke's goal was, and she wasn't going to lead him into something stupid...as much as she liked to tell herself she didn't care about him. And as much as she liked to think herself superior to her teammates, she knew she was no match for Itachi. "He turned out to be a total _dickhead_-"

The Uchiha snorted at her word choice.

"-and I knew there was not hope for someone like him," Sakura finished.

Sasuke was disappointed at how little she said but Sakura didn't even seem to notice he was there anymore.

It was frequent that she had flashbacks. Her main motivation was her past after all.

_Flashback_

An seven-year old Sakura sat against a tree with her legs folded against her chest and her arms wrapped tightly under her knees. Her cheeks were wet but her shoulders weren't shaking with sobs anymore. Itachi sat nearby her against the same tree.

"I think that's how my otoutu feels, except you don't have an older sibling," Itachi said. Sakura had come running into the training grounds sobbing about how her father had brushed her aside for a clan meeting, in other words she had been denied a training session.

"If you're so determined to learn, why don't you let me teach you a few things?"

Sakura looked at him with big green eyes and nodded her head vigorously.

It had been a long night. Itachi showed her a variety of tricks, from midair projectile-shooting to shuriken seals.

And every single trick she had learned from that evening she kept with her, as much as she didn't want to.

_End Flashback (aww, sorry it's so short D:)_

Sasuke saw the distant look in Sakura's eyes and nudged her with his elbow. Her natural reaction would've been to snap at him but instead, simply cringed for a brief second.

"Come on, the dobe might've finished by now," he said and took the lead as both headed back to Tsunami's place.

As they entered, the little boy (Sakura was pretty sure his name was Inari) walked out, shooting a small smile at Sakura. The pink-haired girl arched an eyebrow in curiosity. Tsunami flashed her a sweet grin to which Sakura responded with a gentle nod, a tiny quirk of the corners of her lips visible.

Kakashi barely looked up from his book as the two walked in. With perverted thoughts and a smirk (with a weird snort that was supposed to resemble a giggle) hidden by his mask, he turned back to his book. Naruto trudged out of the room he was sleeping in and yawned. His limbs felt weak but he was starving like a Choji that went a week without chips.

Seeing his face, Tsunami chuckled softly and stated, "don't just sit there. I put food on the table for a reason."

Sakura took a bowl of rice, not feeling too hungry. Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other and shoveled as much food as they could in their mouths. Kakashi didn't even seem to notice there were other people in the room.

The two boys of Team 7 stood up and each held a bowl of katsudon out in front of them like they were praying to it and glared at each other. Lightning literally seemed to spark between their gazes. Tsunami had to giggle at such immaturity.

After trying to eat all the katsudon, both turned to their sides and puked their insides out. Naruto passed out a second before Sasuke. Sakura rolled her eyes but since she was next to Sasuke she threw him over her shoulder as if he weighed nothing and made her way to a room where she could set him down. Kakashi followed her example with Naruto in his grasp. The two boys ended up in the room Naruto was in previously with their mouths open and hands over their stomachs. Sakura had to smirk at the sight of Sasuke looking so weird.

"Just leave them for tonight. Naruto will have to finish his training in the morning when he's recharged. I doubt throwing up his meal for the night did anything to help," Kakashi explained and turned to go to his own room.

Sakura headed back to the table and took a seat near Tsunami who was sipping her tea. Inari walked back in and knocked his shoes off his feet before taking a seat next to his mother, Tazuna behind him.

"Sakura-chan, did you see the bridge?!" Inari asked with a big smile on his face.

Said girl slightly widened her eyes at the sudden change in the boy. "Iie, I haven't been there since noon."

Tsunami and Tazuna grinned at Inari. The little boy's mother listened to Sakura's story and retold it to Inari. Sakura was worse off than him; she had lost her entire family while Inari still had his mother and grandfather. Her family was also murdered by an entire organization of S-rank shinobi. Inari had been stunned but seemed to realize how lucky he was. It was going to take a little more to open up to Naruto and Sasuke though.

"I think I'll go to sleep. See you tomorrow!" Inari ran off to his bedroom and closed the door.

"You should get some sleep too, dear. You'll have to guard Otousan all day tomorrow," Tsunami said and urged Sakura into a spare bedroom.

"Arigato, Tsunami," Sakura thanked softly before shutting the door.

* * *

The first one up was Sakura and she ate breakfast in time to walk with Tazuna to the bridge. Her teammates were still passed out and Kakashi was attempting to wake Naruto without waking Sasuke, who was clearly the lighter sleeper.

"You're a lot more tolerable than those other two," Tazuna proclaimed while setting out some tools.

"Hai, but they're dedicated," Sakura replied emotionlessly.

"Tch, doesn't seem too much like it."

"Sasuke's a lot like me. He had to train himself and deal with total clan extermination. But he has his goals. Naruto never knew his parents but he wants to be Hokage." Sakura let a tiny smirk appear on her face. "I think he can."

"You seem to trust them a lot."

"As odd as it might be, with my life."

* * *

"Are you ready, Master Zabuza?"

The masked hunter-nin from the battle with said Kiri-nin looked up at his teacher.

"Hai."

With his Kubikiribocho at hand, both shinobi ran towards the bridge.

* * *

**I think this is my longest chapter...maybe. I tried to update yesterday but I fell asleep in the middle of typing. Horse shows take a lot out of me. I'm hoping to update faster after Sunday since the show ends. The AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) shows I go to usually last about 4-5 days.**

**Here's the chapter question:**

**Who fights Zabuza while Kakashi and Naruto are away?**

**Ooh, twist. They'll be back though.**

**Please R&R and I'll try and update soon!**


	12. Struggle

**Chapter 12: Struggle**

**Hi! I'm sorry this chapter came later than planned but I couldn't update as quickly and I was really pumped to update Queen of Escape. Lately I've been addicted to YouTube and American Ninja Warrior. And I heard Beware the Batman was cancelled (tears). I wish WarnerBros would make another Teen Titans movie or sequel series. Teen Titans Go! is just for humor. Where's the real thing?!**

**Thanks to:**

_**kelpiejh**_

**I wish I got more reviews!**

**WHY?! (cries very loudly)**

******I wish auto-correct wouldn't correct 24/7. For the Grammar Nazis out there, if I make a mistake it's auto-correct's fault. That's when I don't like having a MacBook.**

**I just realized I'm wishing for a lot of things lately.**

**BTW: I'm not going to have the battle with Haku and Sasuke the same because I don't really remember the entire thing and it's too troublesome to read or watch the scene again :P**

**I think this is my longest chapter.**

**Anyway, standard disclaimer.**

* * *

_Usually I was the one that went to Itachi. This was different._

_This time, he came to me._

* * *

Sasuke met Sakura at the bridge after he woke up and ate breakfast. That boy, Inari, greated him at breakfast with a timid but enthusiastic face. It was actually really surprising. He didn't see Kakashi or Naruto and assumed they left for training.

He wasn't surprised that Sakura didn't greet him but he at least expected a nod of acknowledgement. Instead she had her eyes narrowed and arms crossed.

"What's going on?" Sasuke finally asked.

"Can't you sense it?" Sakura questioned in reply.

Sasuke heightened his senses and traced two chakra signatures but couldn't pick up the location. He looked at Sakura questioningly and she glanced down the bridge, towards the mainland. Two figures were walking toward them, small from distance but highly resembled an all too familiar pair.

"Just the people we wanted to see," Zabuza said and Sasuke could nearly picture a sinister smirk under the missing-nin's mask.

Sakura stepped in front of Tazuna who had backed up instantly at the sight of the Kiri-nin. Sasuke stepped over so Sakura could hear him without revealing anything to Zabuza.

"We need Kakashi and the dobe. Even you have to admit we can't take them on alone," he said.

"I know that. Demo, if one of us goes to get them, the other won't stand a chance," Sakura responded.

"Then we're stuck until they get back."

Sakura wasn't one to curse every sentence, but this situation was an exception. "Fuck," she muttered over and over again.

"Thanks for making my ears numb," Sasuke muttered.

"Whatever. I'm sure you cuss too," Sakura said back with an eye roll.

He replied with a "hn."

Both turned their attention to Zabuza and the hunter-nin. They knew some of Zabuza's skills but none of the hunter-nin's.

"I'll take the girl. Keep the other one busy, Haku," Zabuza ordered and dew his blade from the strap on his back.

"Hai," the hunter-nin, called Haku, nodded and turned his attention to Sasuke.

"We won't stand a chance if we split up," Sakura hissed.

"I don't think we stand a chance even if we work together," Sasuke responded through clenched teeth.

"And I haven't even killed the Akatsuki yet," Sakura mumbled.

"Shut up you two. Let's get this started, shall we?" Zabuza narrowed his eyes on Sakura.

Neither of the genin got to say anything before Haku charged at Sasuke. He barely dodged him but was unprepared for the senbon that slashed his arm. Zabuza swung his sword at Sakura who rolled under, just slicing the end of her hair. Once she stood up again, she activated her invisibility and hid her chakra.

_'Looks like she's got those two gekkei kenkai traits mastered. I wonder how long it'll take her to figure all the others out,'_ Zabuza thought as he prepared to attack again.

Sasuke threw three kunais at Haku. The hunter-nin simply stepped to the side and used a senbon to deflect the kunai that came close enough to scratch him. It only frustrated the Uchiha.

_'How do I find his weaknesses?'_ Sasuke mentally asked and concentrated on Haku's movement.

* * *

"Naruto, with the strain you're putting on your body, you might have two different results," Kakashi said as he watched the Kyuubi vessel struggle with each attempt.

"And what would those be?" Naruto asked, focused on the scratch marks on the tree trunk.

"Either you pass out...or I walk away due to your bad gas."

Naruto glared at him. "I'm gonna ignore the second one." He ran up the tree again and slashed a spot just above the previous line before falling back down to the ground.

Kakashi grinned. "What's stopping you from concentrating?"

The blonde paused to think and looked at the ground. "It's just frustrating that I can't keep up with Sakura and Sasuke. What do they have that I don't?"

"Sakura's kekkei genkai gives her perfect chakra control. And I'm not quite sure about Sasuke. My reasoning makes Icha Icha look like a historical biography," Kakashi said.

Naruto looked at him strangely. "How so?"

"You're too young to understand."

"I AM NOT TOO YOUNG, YOU OLD MAN!"

_'His chakra sensory hasn't fully developed yet. I knew Zabuza wasn't dead. Naruto won't stay here if I go help Sasuke and Sakura. I hope they can manage until Naruto finishes his training. If I can't sense Zabuza's chakra in fifteen minutes, I'm going to help them and I don't care if Naruto finishes or not.'_

* * *

Sakura dodged a swipe of Zabuza's blade. Even if he couldn't sense her, Zabuza's hearing was his most acute sense at the moment. He heard the whoosh of wind as Sakura ducked down.

_'I'll have to make some offensive moves...now,'_ Sakura thought.

"Raiton: Dagekinami no Jutsu!" she shouted quickly and a current of blue electricity rapidly sped away from her, like a ripple in a pond.

_'Shit,'_ Zabuza internally cursed and jumped up to evade the electricity, not getting one of his feet out of the way quick enough. It stung like hell. He couldn't rest that foot on the ground because of its twitching.

_'That's the trick. Lightning release. I'll have to use **that** move.'_

* * *

Sasuke threw a shuriken at one point and ran to another, launching a kunai. Any weapon he could find in his holsters he swiped at Haku.

The hunter-nin couldn't keep up with everything. It wasn't helping that the mask was limiting his vision.

_'It's time for the trump card.'_

"Makyo Hyosho!"

Twenty-one floating mirrors sprang up and Haku appeared in each. All that was going through Sasuke's head at that moment was, _'shit.'_

* * *

_Itachi wasn't an 'emotional' kind of guy. But I had never seen his face more distraught._

_"I have to kill them, my family," he had said, a single drop slipping down his face._

_The only thing I could do was cry with him._

* * *

**I think this is now my longest chapter. I hope I get more reviews this time. As stupid as it sounds, at 11:11 I wished for more reviews. LOL I'm desperate.**

**Jutsu Translations:**

**Raiton: Dagekinami no Jutsu- Lightning Release: Shockwave Technique**

**Makyo Hyosho- Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals**

**Love you all and pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease R&R!**


	13. Error

**Chapter 13: Error**

**Hey! This chapter will be my last before I go on my family reunion vacation. And I'll try to make my chapters longer. Again, I'm one of those writers that can't write more than 1,500 so words per chapter. But I made this one longer...well, I tried anyway.**

**And I'm aware that more dialogue appears before the fight between Sasuke and Haku begins. Sasuke's a bit too cocky for my liking in that scene so I'm not putting anything like that in there.**

**I also figured out how to type accents and those lines over letters. I can't think about what they're called at the moment. I LOVE MY MACBOOK!**

**BTW: Sakura now can't use a jutsu without reappearing.**

**Thanks to:**

_**Strawberrys000**_

_**DarkenedRequiem**_

_**uni10**_

_**violetruna**_

_**music3kp**_

**_hama431_  
**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Standard, yeah.**

* * *

_It happened. Itachi went through with the elders' orders and massacred his clan...and spared his brother. I've seen Sasuke before, he idolized Itachi. And I knew how scarred his was from the experience._

_I just didn't expect the same to happen to my clan._

* * *

"Demo, Kakashi-sensei, I didn't finish my training!" Naruto protested as he ran after his teacher.

"This is serious, Naruto. Is your training or your friends more important?" (Was that grammar correct 'cause it doesn't sound correct?)

"My friends, dattebayo!"

* * *

Sasuke evaded the senbons Haku threw at him from six different mirrors. His eyes felt like they were tingling but it wasn't from annoyance, even if he was annoyed from this fight.

As he dodged another round of senbons, he tried to follow Haku's movements as the hunter-nin appeared and disappeared in each mirror.

_'I can't keep up with his speed,' _he thought.

"Are you prepared for my real speed?" Haku questioned and Sasuke widened his eyes as he saw Haku appear in every single mirror.

The first senbon sliced Sasuke's forearm warmer and his breath caught in his throat at the suddenness. The second one slashed through his sleeve. Sasuke tightened his body as the next hundred were launched at him.

Once Haku stopped his barrage of senbon, Sasuke winced as he prepared for his next move.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" he shouted and watched for a few seconds as the flames flew around in different directions. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Sasuke smirked when Haku had to jump to another mirror to evade the flames. But that smirk disappeared when his scrapes started to sting.

_'Damn hunter-nin.'_

* * *

Zabuza slammed his sword on the ground and looked to the side when he heard a swoosh.

"Mizu Bushin no Jutsu!" Two water clones formed to his sides and he had a sinister grin on his face, the form visible on the tape around his mouth.

Sakura formed a hand seal and threw two fūma at the clones, making her visible. Both the clones used their swords to block the fūma.

"That all you've got, girl?" Zabuza taunted.

Sakura frowned and grasped her whip. Zabuza created more water clones and each charged at her.

"Raiton: Dendō Shinchō no Jutsu!" Sakura swung her whip around and watched as bolts of electricity stuck each clone.

Zabuza's smirk still hadn't disappeared and it only made Sakura glare at him. Two more water clones appeared and they, along with Zabuza, ran towards her.

"Dodge this!" They all swiped at her with incredibly fast speeds. Sakura flipped backwards to avoid it and used her whip to destroy the two clones.

"I wasn't talking about dodging those."

Sakura had no time at all to fight back as a kunai was stabbed in her left eye.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard a piercing scream fill the air. He immediately looked in Sakura's direction and gulped as he saw Sakura with her face completely covered in blood and a kunai handle sticking out of her eye. His head was filled with flashbacks of the massacre, there was more than one of his family members that had the same kind of fate happen to them. Without realizing it, his eyes had both turned red and one tomoe spiraled around it it.

He turned to Haku and clenched his teeth. "You're dead!"

Behind his mask, Haku widened his eyes. _'This kid, he's completely murderous now.'_

"Katon: Gōenka!" Sasuke jumped in the air with lightning speed and shot three bursts of fire into the air. Each began to grow to the size of meteors and they slammed into the ground. Geysers of flames shot up from they spots where they landed and Haku had to blind his eyes.

Sasuke threw shuriken at each mirror, managing to make the metal avoid the fire. The mirror didn't shatter but Haku was thrust out the other end.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei! I found the she-male!" a certain loud-mouth blonde announced.

* * *

Sakura couldn't concentrate on anything other than the pain in her eye. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. She could make out voices but couldn't tell who was speaking. Soon she felt someone touch her eyelid and immediately lifted a hand to punch whoever it was.

"Don't move, Sakura. You'll make it worse than it already is," the now recognizable voice of Kakashi said.

Sakura numbly obeyed and dropped her hand. Kakashi moved his hand away from her eyelid and turned to face Zabuza.

"Why her eye?" he asked.

"It'll affect nearly every ability she has. The last Haruno will be ten times easier to eliminate," Zabuza answered.

Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate and opened his eye to reveal his Sharingan. "We'll see about that."

* * *

_'Why won't the mirrors shatter?'_ Sasuke questioned himself as he watched Naruto make kage bushin.

"Sasuke-teme! You'd better help me!" Naruto shouted at him and Sasuke groaned.

_'Baka._'

Nevertheless, he ran over to where Naruto was and threw a few shuriken at Haku. The hunter-nin would be stupid to not admit that his speed scared him. Haku managed to deflect them with a senbon.

"Oi, Teme! Do you have a plan?!" Naruto asked, too loud for Sasuke's liking.

"Shut up, baka! I'm thinking," Sasuke growled out.

Both could overwhelm Haku with their speed but they also had to keep him from reentering the mirrors. If they could figure out how to destroy them, Haku wouldn't be able to cast the jutsu again due to his low chakra.

"Naruto, listen," Sasuke commanded and explained his plan in a hushed tone. Naruto nodded and set his eyes on Haku. He wasn't the best at aiming, but he could put up a fair fight.

"On my command." Sasuke gathered his chakra. "Now!"

Naruto pulled out a scroll and summoned a fūma shuriken. As best and quick as he could aim, he threw it at a mirror.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Sasuke released the ball of flames and it surrounded the fūma.

The sound of continuous shattering ice seemed to make time stop.

* * *

Zabuza used his sword to block the kunais Kakashi hurled at him. He heard Haku's demonic mirrors shattering but paid no heed to it.

_'It's time to end this,'_ Kakashi thought and prepared his chakra for his next move.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu!" Zabuza formed the tiger seal and pale mist surrounded him. "The next time you see me, you'll die by my hand."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. _'What's he planning? He's not dumb enough to attack me head on. Sakura's already out of the way and I'm too __close to her for him to get a chance. Wait, Tazuna-'_

The copy-ninja ran to where Tazuna was standing and saw that the bridge-builder was completely unharmed and there was no chakra presence near him. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he turned on his heel.

"Sakura!"

* * *

As the rest of the ice mirrors fell to the ground, Naruto looked over to where the mist cloud was growing and asked, "teme, do you know what happened to Sakura?"

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat as he followed Naruto's gaze. "I don't know exactly. Don't get distracted, he isn't out yet."

Naruto saw the Uchiha's back tense as he answered and turned back to glance at Haku. The hunter-nin was struggling with his low chakra, he had kept the mirrors up for a long enough time to drain him. Naruto gritted his teeth in anger.

"You're a sick bastard for following that guy!" he yelled with his eyes turning red and his whisker marks becoming more defined.

Sasuke wouldn't admit it out loud, but he agreed wholly with his teammate/closest-ish male friend/rival. Upon closer look, a tiny trace of worry was in his Sharingan eyes.

"WHAT DID HE DO TO SAKURA?!" Naruto demanded and raced at blinding speed to punch Haku in the face.

The mask barely protected Haku from Naruto's fist but it shattered upon impact. "Master Zabuza wouldn't have killed her. He most likely weakened her so she would be easier to defeat later on."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY MORE REASSURING!"

As Naruto prepared to charge again, Sasuke blocked him and said, "blind anger won't help you."

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"Calm down. We need to end this quickly. Sakura will only lose more blood the longer we take."

Slowly, the whisker marks shrank back to their original size and Naruto's eyes turned light blue again.

"What's the plan?"

* * *

**I hope you all miss me while I'm gone ;). Ha, you don't have to worry about me. I'll update once I get up and moving again. I'm probably going to have jet lag. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Again I tried to make it longer but probably didn't make it any longer than usual. Actually, this is my longest chapter yet.**

**See you when I get back and please review!**


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